Monaco's academy has produced Thierry Henry, Kylian Mbappe and Anthony Martial and their latest crop of youngsters were at Old Trafford on Friday night to play Manchester United's Under 21s in the Premier League International Cup.
Martial is hardly on the level of Henry or Mbappe but he is still part of the French club's alumni, which players like Soungoutou Magassa and Eliesse Ben Seghir are now looking to join. A French correspondent was in the Old Trafford media room ahead of kick-off and he recommended following both of those players, while he was inquisitive about Kobbie Mainoo and Charlie Savage.
Monaco, who will play Arsenal on Monday, brought over a strong team to play United and yet United's youngsters were the players who seized the initiative in the match, with Mainoo splitting their backline with an outstanding pass within six minutes.
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Mainoo was up against Magassa in midfield and it looked like an exciting match-up from the first whistle. Magassa is highly regarded in France and Mainoo is highly regarded in Manchester and the pair competed for the spotlight.
Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell, who was linked with that very position at United before John Murtough was appointed football director in March 2021, was also in attendance to watch the game. Mitchell is known for travelling to watch Monaco's academy.
Charlie Savage and Isak Hansen-Aareon started alongside Mainoo in midfield and the tempo of the game was impressive from the start under the floodlights at Old Trafford, with the lower section of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand full of supporters.
It was Hansen-Aareon, though, that looked to cause Monaco problems after Mainoo sent a warning with his searching ball forward, with the Norwegian dancing around defenders to create an opening for himself, which was eventually easily saved.
Although Monaco's starting line-up was strong and United were embarrassed in a 6-1 defeat by Manchester City last weekend, Mark Dempsey's U21s looked the better side throughout the opening stages. Noam Emeran, who has only recently returned from injury, looked bright on the left wing again but he couldn't head home from Charlie McNeill's delightful cross in the 24th minute.
McNeill is a prolific scorer at this level and yet he almost turned provider at that moment. He was also leading from the front throughout the first half, pressing with great energy, but Monaco's attackers were under similar instructions.
Monaco were putting United under pressure in defence, but United goalkeeper Ondrej Mastny insisted on playing out from the back, perhaps influenced by Erik ten Hag, who wants his goalkeepers to play with the ball at their feet. Mastny did not look panicked with the ball, although it's fair to say his decision-making could be improved, like most young players.
Savage was dropping deep to collect the ball from Mastny and he did not look comfortable with Monaco pressing in that area, which almost proved costly, as he was dispossessed on the edge of the box, giving Monaco a clear opportunity.
The shot was saved by Mastny but he could not be angry with Savage - the pass to the midfielder was not on. Nonetheless, the stopper deserves to be lauded for his confidence and his performance bodes well for the ball-playing goalkeepers coming through the academy. Ten Hag's influence stretches beyond the senior side.
Elsewhere, Mainoo looked unflustered by the attention of Monaco's midfielders. His composure is outstanding and he makes the right decision when on the ball more often than not.
United conceded six goals against City but there seemed to be no sign of that porous backline against Friday night's visitors. Marc Jurado, Rhys Bennett, Teden Mengi, who captained the side, and Bjorn Hardley all defended well against capable forwards, including Ben Seghir.
Although Ben Seghir did get the better of Jurado just before half-time with a sublime piece of skill. The Frenchman was unable to find a teammate across the goal and the danger was cleared, much to the relief of a grateful Mastny.
The game opened up after the break and the best chance of the game fell to Omari Forson, who is the second joint-leading goalscorer for United's U21s this season. Forson was through on goal following a counter-attack after the hour mark but the shot was saved.
It felt like that miss had the potential to be huge and it was. Monaco looked inspired after half-time, pushing toward the United goal with great purpose and intent, and they finally broke the deadlock in the 67th minute through Mamadou Coulibaly.
Coulibaly celebrated in the corner and he was booed by the family crowd. The young supporters wanted a response from United and they almost got exactly that when Charlie McNeill somehow turned the ball past the post from just three yards out.
That was two golden chances that had been squandered and it felt like another significant moment. United's U21s have struggled to find the back of the net this season and Friday night was no different, which ultimately decided the game.
Mainoo won his midfield battle against Magassa regardless and perhaps we could eventually see the pair up against each other at senior level.
Monaco scored in added time to make it 2-0 and United's players trudged their back to the halfway line.
It was another defeat, but it was a huge improvement on the City shellacking.
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